On Principle

The people of the 76th Illinois house district are entitled to a representative who has been elected by the people, not selected by party bosses. Our community also deserves to know where their representative stands on the issues. I will not pander to the Illinois Valley while voting against its interest in Springfield; I will stand firm on my principles and represent the people of this district. We need more solutions coming out of Springfield, not gridlock and political games.

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I stand on principle. My core values guide me in my daily life and guide my positions on the issues. Here are a few examples:

I am a firm believer in Second Amendment rights. The best way we can keep our communities safe is to have more law-abiding citizens proficiently trained in the use of a firearm, and to give them permission to carry.

I believe we must fully support our police officers. I have a daughter who is a police officer. We cannot continue to tie our law enforcement officers’ hands if we expect them to be tough on crime and get dangerous drugs and criminals off the street. Our police officers put their lives on the line everyday to protect us. They deserve our full support.

Likewise, we must treat our veterans with the utmost respect. Our role in Illinois is to give our veterans all the necessary tools, treatment, resources, and help they need to re-adapt to civilian life. This is why I have proposed what I call the Veterans Assisted Mentor Program (VAMP). You can read more about that here.

I believe welfare was meant to be a hand-up, not a hand-out. We must cut the waste in our welfare system and encourage able citizens to seek employment. Over the past 30-plus years, I’ve found there is a lot of self-confidence that comes from earning a paycheck to provide for yourself and your family. It saddens me that so many people in our state are missing out on that part of life. I firmly believe economic growth will yield upward mobility. But we must encourage it, not discourage it.

I am pro-life and pro-traditional marriage. I will defend the values and traditions which have made us a great nation.